Walled Lake Western students pick teacher for Marine boot camp

Marine Sgt. Derek Hilbert (left) with Walled Lake Western High School teacher Bill Kussy, who was voted by students to go to Marine boot camp next April, pictured Monday November 18, 2013. (Oakland Press Photo:Vaughn Gurganian)

Government teacher Bill Kussy Jr. can blame Marine Corps recruiter, Staff Sgt. Derek Hilbert, along with Kussy’s popularity with students, for getting signed up for boot camp at Parris Island, SC. in the Spring.

Kussy just learned this week that students at Walled Lake Western High School selected him as the teacher to send to the Maine Corps Recruit Depot in a school-wide election.

However, in reality, the ninth-grade teacher won’t be required to go through any of the tough training real Marine recruits face - unless, of course, he wants to.

A teacher of civics and economics in the socials studies department at Walled Lake Western High School for 16 of his 20 years in the district, Kussy will actually be at the recruit training as part of Marine Corps Education Workshop, said Sgt. Hilbert.

While there, Kussy will have the choice of observing, and/or taking part in physical training and conditioning instruction, basic warrior training/Crucible, drill and ceremonies, weapons safety and marksmanship techniques . And along with all the educators in the program, he will learn about the Marine Corps history, occupational opportunites and recruit training techniques.

A letter mailed to educators who take part in the four-day boot camp workshops makes clear the importance of the Marine Corps training program: “We are assigned a critical mission – we make Marines. We build our training on a foundation of our core values of Honor, Courage and Commitment, as we transform the young men and women of our Nation into United States Marines. We take the best our Nation has to offer, and endeavor to make them even better,” Western Assistant Principal Harvey Donohue said it was Sgt. Hilbert’s idea to have students vote for which teacher to send to the boot camp program and Donohue gave the go ahead.

Donohue said he was not surprised that Kussy was given the honor by Western students.

“The kids are voting for people they like because it is actually a neat experience,” Donohue said. A great many students get to know Kussy because he teachers the required freshman class, he has been a class sponsor since 2006 and he does a lot of fundraisers.

Kussy said he has always loved having the military come in to his classes and, “When I heard about it, I said I would love to do it.” The program runs April 1-4.

However, it is unlikely Kussy will try the warrior training.

“They won’t make you do what you don’t want to do. I will try some things” he said, such as marksmanship training and maybe a rope obstacle, “but I’m not a very athletic person.”

“The experience will be something I can share with students,” said Kussy, which is just what the Marine Corps is hoping for.

“It will be good to see what they do. I have a lot of students looking into going into the military,” he said, including one of the senior girls, who plans to go into the Marine officer training.

“I was hoping Mr. Kussy would have the opportunity to go,” said Donohue. For the past 2o years, Kussy and his brother had cared for their mother, who had muscular sclerosis, making it possible for her to live at home until she died recently.